A mother from Western Australia has admitted to starving her three-month-old daughter and dumping the body in a cooler bag to decompose.
News.com.au Tamara Louise Thompson pleaded guilty to the charges midway through the murder trial on Wednesday. She was accused of manslaughter for failing to provide sustenance and nourishment to her baby, Destiny, whose body was found inside a cooler bag, wrapped in a cloth, last year. Destiny’s cause of death could not be determined due to the state of the body.
The court learned last week that Thompson’s pregnancy was unplanned, and there was evidence that she did not want the baby.
Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo argued that Thompson had ‘intended to kill Destiny’. Thompson had failed to provide Destiny with proper nutrition, leaving her bottle near her even though she couldn’t feed herself. She also had other children, so knew how to care for children properly.
The defence counsel Helen Prince argued that Thompson had been in an abusive relationship with her meth dealer, who had not wanted to support or see their baby. Though she had had rough times and the pregnancy was unplanned, she still loved Destiny.
“This case is a tragedy,” Ms Prince said.
Ms Prince said that Thompson was in a dire state after Destiny’s death – she was found rocking back and forth in animal faeces when the landlord found her.
When police questioned Thompson as to why she had named her daughter Destiny, she replied, “Because she was destined to be here.”
Tamara Louise will be sentenced in court on Friday.
